Antibiotics

Animal antibiotic study halted By LAURA ERNDE laurae@herald-mail.com Maryland's rural senators on Wednesday blocked the state from studying antibiotic use by farmers. Arguing the study would hurt the state's ailing farming industry, lawmakers killed it on a 16-to-30 vote. Speaking against the study on the Senate floor, Sen. Donald F. Munson said Washington County dairy farmers are going out of business. "This bill is only going to help accelerate that trend," said Munson, R-Washington.

The emergence of Clostridium difficile, a bacteria associated with long-term antibiotic use, has prompted health officials to scrutinize how and when antibiotics are given as treatment. "If there's any silver lining at all, it's that a lot of clinics and hospitals are coming to grips with the fact that antibiotics are not without risks, they have unintended consequences," said Dr. Cliff McDonald, medical epidemiologist for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Clostridium difficile, or C. diff.

Dogs suffering from an upper respiratory illness at the Humane Society of Washington County seem to be responding favorably to antibiotics, the humane society's executive director said Friday. Paul Miller said he won't know for certain whether the dogs are out of the woods, however, until a veterinarian checks them out next week. The illness prompted humane society officials to stop adopting dogs late last month, Miller said. Hopefully, the kennel will reopen in less than a week so dog adoptions can resume, he said.

By Kate Coleman Staff Writer Patrick Cassner was hospitalized with severe stomach pain when he was 20 years old. Everyone told him it was stress, but he didn't believe that was the cause, he says. An X-ray showed a stomach ulcer. He was put on a restricted diet - a lot of liquids, no caffeine, no alcohol, no nicotine. Tagamet, a medication designed to reduce the amount of acid produced by the stomach, was prescribed. The ulcer cleared up, but he was hospitalized when it recurred five years later and again when the same place in his stomach was inflamed another time after that.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) - A Berkeley County boy with cystic fibrosis will not get a rare lung transplant needed to save his life unless doctors can find a way to combat his body's resistance to antibiotics, his mother said Monday. Jordy Carper, 10, of Hedgesville is to receive lung lobes from his mother and grandmother during an operation at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles. But recent lab tests show his body is resistant to antibiotics, which could make the operation too dangerous because doctors would have to suppress his immune system to do it, Melissa Carper said.

STOCKHOLM (AP) -- Americans Venkatraman Ramakrishnan and Thomas Steitz and Israeli Ada Yonath won the 2009 Nobel Prize in chemistry on Wednesday for atom-by-atom mapping of the protein-making factories within cells. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said their work on ribosomes has been fundamental to the scientific understanding of life and has helped researchers develop antibiotics. Yonath is the fourth woman to win the Nobel chemistry prize and the first since 1964, when Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin of Britain received the award.

A scheduled demonstration on Civil War medicine did not occur as planned at Saturday's Retreat Through Williamsport, but a number of people recognized an expert in the crowd. George Wunderlich, executive director of the National Museum of Civil War Medicine in Frederick, Md., was at the event as a visitor on Saturday, but still found himself being pulled aside by other visitors to answer a few questions. “There are a few misconceptions about Civil War medicine, things like biting a bullet because they didn't have anesthetics,” Wunderlich said.

By SAMANTHA KRULEWITZ Staff Writer Tick season has arrived in Maryland with 67 more cases of Lyme disease reported this year through May 17 compared to the same period last year. Dr. Robert Parker, Washington County Health Department's health officer, said the large increase is a result of the mild winter. "Generally the tick season is in the warmer part of the year," Parker said. "If we have a warm spring you begin to see it earlier. In April and May you begin to be exposed to various stages of the tick and it continues on to the fall.

An investigation of the nation's tap water has produced some (depending on your perspective) highly disturbing or truly awesome news: Of 28 city water systems inspected, 25 tested positive for a lively stew of pharmaceuticals. So what happens now, the tap water has to sit out a 30-day suspension? Perhaps we need to call out tap water before Congress, where we can listen to implausible denials about how the tap water was only trying to get the drugs for its wife. The water findings reflect two things, experts say. One, our testing instruments are much more sensitive than they have been in the past.

A scheduled demonstration on Civil War medicine did not occur as planned at Saturday's Retreat Through Williamsport, but a number of people recognized an expert in the crowd. George Wunderlich, executive director of the National Museum of Civil War Medicine in Frederick, Md., was at the event as a visitor on Saturday, but still found himself being pulled aside by other visitors to answer a few questions. “There are a few misconceptions about Civil War medicine, things like biting a bullet because they didn't have anesthetics,” Wunderlich said.

Nestlé Purina PetCare Co. and its wholly owned subsidiary Waggin' Train LLC recently announced they are voluntarily withdrawing Waggin' Train and Canyon Creek Ranch brand dog treats sold in the United States until further notice. The company is taking the action after learning that the New York State Department of Agriculture & Markets found trace amounts of antibiotic residue in samples of Waggin' Train and Canyon Creek Ranch chicken jerky products. These antibiotics are approved for use in poultry in China and other major countries, including European Union member states, but are not among those approved in the U.S. Antibiotics are commonly used globally, including in the United States, when raising animals fit for human consumption.

STOCKHOLM (AP) -- Americans Venkatraman Ramakrishnan and Thomas Steitz and Israeli Ada Yonath won the 2009 Nobel Prize in chemistry on Wednesday for atom-by-atom mapping of the protein-making factories within cells. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said their work on ribosomes has been fundamental to the scientific understanding of life and has helped researchers develop antibiotics. Yonath is the fourth woman to win the Nobel chemistry prize and the first since 1964, when Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin of Britain received the award.

Agriculture is under siege from all sides, if you read a recent Time magazine cover story titled "Getting Real About the High Price of Cheap Food. " After reading the article, one would think that conventional food production in the United States is draconian at best. The problem with articles like this one is many folks believe everything they read. The writer points to the same old boogie men of agriculture, large hog operations and feedlots. He trots out the crowding and odor cards and then the knockout blow -- antibiotics.

My boyfriend, Chris, and I were under an extreme amount of stress in 2007 - selling our homes in the crumbling real estate market and dealing with the frustrations of building a new home from the foundation up. We moved three times in eight months. Needless to say, we desperately needed a break. That opportunity finally arrived this June. From June 4 through 10, we planned a mini-vacation to Wheeling, W.Va.. We both enjoy playing the slots occasionally, so we thought we would investigate the casino and dog track at Wheeling Downs.

The emergence of Clostridium difficile, a bacteria associated with long-term antibiotic use, has prompted health officials to scrutinize how and when antibiotics are given as treatment. "If there's any silver lining at all, it's that a lot of clinics and hospitals are coming to grips with the fact that antibiotics are not without risks, they have unintended consequences," said Dr. Cliff McDonald, medical epidemiologist for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Clostridium difficile, or C. diff.

An investigation of the nation's tap water has produced some (depending on your perspective) highly disturbing or truly awesome news: Of 28 city water systems inspected, 25 tested positive for a lively stew of pharmaceuticals. So what happens now, the tap water has to sit out a 30-day suspension? Perhaps we need to call out tap water before Congress, where we can listen to implausible denials about how the tap water was only trying to get the drugs for its wife. The water findings reflect two things, experts say. One, our testing instruments are much more sensitive than they have been in the past.

HAGERSTOWN-Dogs suffering from an upper respiratory illness at the Humane Society of Washington County seem to be responding favorably to antibiotics, the humane society's executive director said Friday. Paul Miller said he won't know for certain whether the dogs are out of the woods, however, until a veterinarian checks them out next week. The illness prompted humane society officials to stop adopting dogs late last month, Miller said. Hopefully, the kennel will reopen in less than a week so dog adoptions can resume, he said.

A sickness similar to the flu has forced the Humane Society of Washington County to temporarily close its dog-adoption kennels, according to a press release from the organization. Dogs that recently went home with new owners also might be sick, spokeswoman Katherine Cooker said. Cooker said 15 of the 34 dogs at the Humane Society on Wednesday were sick with symptoms that included congestion, nasal discharge, fever, lethargy and loss of appetite. The sick dogs, along with 12 dogs housed near them, are on antibiotics, she said.